THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



151 



ODDS JND ENDS 



the intelligent use of its water supply that we must 

 not overlook the importance of irrigation in all its 

 branches. Field and Farm. 



In a recent report Secretary Hitchcock of the 

 Interior Department ha? the following to say: "The 

 thirteen states and three territories within which reclam- 

 ation work can be carried on embrace, with the exception 

 of Texas, the largest political divisions of the United 

 States. While it is not possible for any one man to 

 know the topography and hydrography of all these six- 

 teen states .and territories, yet in a general way the 

 opportunities for completing works of reclamation have 

 been discovered by the engineers of the division of 

 hydrography. Out of the wealth of localities offering 

 favorable opportunities it is possible to select one or 

 another place with reference to the wishes of the people. 

 Other things being equal, the attempt has been made to 

 consult the desires of the business men, commercial 

 organizations, or public officials who have given most 

 thought to the subject. But in the preliminary surveys 

 and designs the considerations outweighing all others 

 are the practicability of reclaiming the largest area of 

 good land, of dividing this into the greatest number of 

 homesteads upon which families can prosper, and of ulti- 

 mately returning to the reclamation fund the cost of 

 the works. Neither . sentimental theory nor political 

 expediency has had any influence in outlining the work 

 to be performed under the reclamation law. With the 

 corps of men selected solely for experience and efficiency, 

 and with localities chosen to yield the largest results, 

 it is hoped to secure ultimately the confidence and appro- 

 bation of the people of the entire country and to justify 

 the wisdom of the advocates of national construction of 

 irrigation works." 



He further states that immediately upon the pas- 

 sage of the law, as soon as a few of these larger matters 

 had been determined, various tracts of land were tem- 

 porarily withdrawn for examination and survey. A de- 

 scription of these lands and of the operations will be 

 transmitted to congress in accordance with the law at 

 an early date, showing all of the details of the work 

 now in hand. 



The secretary states that the actual work of con- 

 structing reservoirs will begin as soon as it can be 

 done with the exercise of caution in successfully com- 

 pleting the important preliminary steps. 



While the people of the west are agitating a leas- 

 ing law and several other foolish things regarding the 

 range, it must not be forgotten that irrigation is after 

 all the salvation of the country. The open range of the 

 arid region is capable of supporting only one cow to 

 every twenty acres, and all the wire fences on earth can- 

 not change this ratio. The same land, when watered 

 and put in alfalfa, will frequently feed ten cows to every 

 twenty, acres, or, in orchards at favorable altitudes, will 

 support a family of three or even five persons. The open 

 range may have a value of fifty cents an acre, while 

 under irrigation the selling price may jump to $50 an 

 acre or if in orchards to $500 an acre. Thus the values 

 of the lands are directly reversed the grazing land hav- 

 ing the greatest extent and the least value and the irri- 

 gated land the least extent and the greatest value. The 

 progress of the west is so dependent on the amount and 



So extensive has become our irrigation system here 

 in Colorado, says Field and Farm, of Denver, that over 

 1,500 ditches and canals are now in operation. One 

 canal the Fort Lyon is operated for a distance of 113 

 miles. There are fifty canals over fifty miles in length 

 and fifty-one canals over twenty miles in length. Over 

 500 large reservoirs are in operation, ranging in area 

 from 2,000 acres to five acres, and with capacities of 

 from 90,000 acre feet to fifty acre feet. The estimated 

 acreage under ditch is over 4,000,000 and the acreage 

 actually cultivated 2,500,000. It is a well-known fact 

 that irrigation development in the west has been re- 

 tarded more by lack of settlers than from capital. The 

 money invested in irrigated lands can yield no return 

 unless we have people to settle upon and farm the lands 

 reclaimed, and these people must come as small fanners 

 and home-builders. Heretofore they have been kept 

 away by the high price of land, by mistakes in the man- 

 agement of ditches and by lack of knowledge and prej- 

 udice against irrigation which has not been fostered by 

 liberal advertising as might have been done and as has 

 been done in other States with lesser attractions. 



IRRIGATION IN SAN SABA. 



The dam for the San Saba irrigation system will 

 have an extreme height of fifty feet. At its greatest 

 depth the base will be thirty-seven and one-half feet; 

 its top width will be ten feet; its length at bottom of 

 creey will be 300 feet; length on top, 800 feet. Avail- 

 able storage, 15,000 acre feet of water. 



On the main ditch it is intended to construct two 

 other storage reservoirs, one of 5,000 acre feet and one 

 of 6,000 acre feet, to be held by earthen dams. The 

 main ditch will be fifty-seven miles long. At the head 

 the bottom will be fourteen feet; slopes of sides, two 

 horizontal to one vertical; depth of water in ditch at 

 maximum flow, six feet. As laterals are taken out the 

 main will be reduced until the lower section will have a 

 bottom width of but five feet, with a depth of only two 

 and one-half feet. 



There will be 150 miles of laterals and sub-laterals 

 from six feet bottom width down to one and one-half 

 feet, and a depth of from three feet of water down to 

 six inches. San Saba County (Texas) News. 



Among the great irrigation failures of the far west 

 are three canals in the Pocatello country of Idaho, 

 known as Idaho Falls, the Idaho and the Reservation ca- 

 nals. After having gone through the customary litiga- 

 tion they were sold the other day to a reorganized cor- 

 poration for $100,000. The property, which has been in 

 the hands of a receiver for the past year, was bid in by 

 the Idaho Canal and Improvement Company, a corpo- 

 ration recently organized by J. H. Brady of Pocatello, 

 which is the headquarters of the new concern. It is 

 the intention of the new company to give the system a 

 complete overhauling, and extend the canal, which will 

 be an event of great importance, opening thousands of 

 acres of rich agricultural land. 



Some of the sugar-beet growers of the Arkansas 

 valley have been surprised by receiving notice from the 

 American Beet Sugar Company cutting their contracts 



